The Art of Heroism
by Nevermore's Shadow
Summary: Steve Rogers discovers Avengers trading cards while on a trip to the grocery store, and decides to delve deeper into what kinds of art fans of the superhero team have created on the internet...


The Art of Heroism

By Nevermore's Shadow

Disclaimer: All characters featured within this work belong to Marvel Entertainment.

* * *

Not a lot had changed about shopping, at least, Steve Rogers mused to himself as he eyed a fairly large bunch of bananas labeled "Organic." Perhaps there were different labels and a heck of a lot more choices - just what made produce "organic," anyway? But things overall were the same: pick up groceries, take them to the counter, pay for them (with significantly more cash than he was used to). Plain and simple, just like the old days. As he stood in line, he idly perused the newspapers - mostly gossip rags with very little to say, except ponderings of which Kardashian had done what and exactly what the nature of Tony Stark's relationship with Pepper Potts was, and if it was continuing healthily. Everyone was concerned out of the very bottoms of their hearts, Steve thought with a roll of his eyes. It was then that he spotted them: a row of small, shiny blue packages all lined up in a row, with the words "Avengers Trading Cards - Photos and Original Art!" emblazoned on the front in bold silver and red letters. Ever since the Battle of New York the previous, people had been making a very big deal out of their new heroes, but Steve had never seen anything like trading cards before. It wouldn't have been the first time he'd been featured on the little pieces of cardboard, he thought with a grimace, remembering the blood soaked cards Nick Fury had tossed on the table after Agent Coulson's death. Steve reached out and picked each and every trading card pack from the display and added them to the belt alongside his groceries, pulling his Dodgers cap a bit lower over his eyes to avoid recognition. The cashier, a pleasant elderly woman favored Steve with a smile, which he returned politely.

"Big Avengers fan?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at the dozen packages of cards as she ran them past her scanner.

"Something like that," Steve laughed, pretending to suddenly be very interested in an orange that he was placing into his reusable grocery sack.

"You know, you look very familiar," the cashier said, adjusting her glasses slightly.

"I... ah... get that a lot."

"You look a lot like that Thor fellow," she proclaimed with a somewhat flirtatious smile, "he's quite a handsome one, with those arms and..." she sighed dreamily, not missing a beat as she scanned Steve's milk, bread, and eggs.

Steve let out a stunned "Thanks," as he saw the woman glance his way with a sort of look that he would rather not think about, immediately realizing that he wasn't sure if he was more uncomfortable flirting with an elderly woman, aside from Peggy, or with the fact that this elderly woman was likely a baby when he went into his deep freeze. Neither idea was particularly appealing to him as he watched the screen in front of him, pausing as the cashier got to the trading cards, "Whoa! Three dollars for a pack of cards?"

"Yes, is that all right?" The woman seemed a tad perplexed by his shock. Steve paused for a moment and considered his current pay, realizing that he made more than enough to splurge a bit to satisfy his curiosity.

"Yeah, that's fine. They'd better have some really good gum in there," he joked, though the woman only gave him the most patronizing of laughs in return. Steve pulled out his wallet, fumbling with his credit card for a moment before swiping it through the machine, to no response.

"Magnetic strip goes towards the back, dear," the woman said, adjusting her glasses again.

"Thank you, ma'am," he replied earnestly, flipping the card and gathering up his bags once the transaction had been completed. The walk home was blessedly uneventful, though certainly not quiet. As he made his way into his apartment, resting his groceries on the kitchen counter, he immediately reached into the bag and pulled out a package of trading cards, tearing the foil packaging that contained them. No bubble gum, he noted, but the first card he found was a still image from the Battle of New York - Tony flying headlong into one of the mammoth flying alien creatures that had terrorized Manhattan. The photo was a bit grainy, but it was still clear enough to present a very dramatic image. A caption below read "Iron Man Faces Flying Foe," and on the reverse side, there was a brief blurb about the person who had captured the image from atop their office building, which had sustained damage during the battle, but had few casualties "thanks to the herculean efforts of the Avengers - Earth's mightiest heroes." He flipped to the next card to find a sketch of who he assumed was Natasha - the fighting stance was most definitely hers, but the face wasn't quite right: too angular and a bit masculine. It took him half an hour to carefully pour over each of the cards. It was odd to him that people would be so interested in creating art of the Avengers. They had just been doing their job, as exciting as that job might have been. He was particularly interested in the sketch work, enjoying the rough lines that made up each image of the Hulk, Tony, Thor, and himself... there were fewer of Natasha and Clint, he noticed, much to his dismay. They were present, but not as heavily featured as those with "superpowers." Steve briefly wondered if Phil Coulson would have made it into the art of these cards if he'd survived Loki's escape from the Helicarrier. With his penchant for collecting, Steve had a feeling that Coulson would have liked that very much. After flipping through the cards another two or three times, he stacked the cards neatly on his living room table and made his way to his computer, deciding to see if there was even more art on the internet. Part of him felt like he was letting his ego get too large, but he was simply curious what people saw in the extraordinary team, and what better way to see that than through art? After a few moments of scrolling through Google's results to his search of "Avengers art," he heard a knock on the door. He found Natasha standing on the other side of the door, a briefcase in her hand.

"Sorry to bother you at home. The boss wanted you to go over these TPS reports before Saturday," she said, wiggling the briefcase in the air as she stepped into Steve's apartment without invitation.

"TPS reports...?"

"Ah, yes... I always forget, references and you don't always get along," she laid the case down on the coffee table and opened it, removing a manila envelope with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s insignia printed on the front, "it's just some paperwork from your last mission, nothing to get too worked up about."

"Ah, all right, can I get you anything to drink?" Steve inquired, playing the polite host.

"Just a glass of water would be fine," she said, glancing at Steve's bookshelf as he stepped into the kitchen, taking note to see if any new volumes had turned up since she'd last been there. Her path of observation eventually came to his computer screen, still displaying thumbnails of artistic interpretations of the Avengers - some more flattering than others. "Well then, I didn't know you and Tony were so intimate..."

A stammer came from the kitchen ahead of Steve's emergence with a pair of water glasses, "I, ah... apparently people on the internet have wild imaginations. I don't understand it myself, it all seems a little strange."

"One of the saviors of New York is blushing, that's so charming..." The image on the computer screen featured a lovingly rendered image of a shirtless Steve Rogers and Tony Stark embracing in tangled sheets. It was enough to make Captain America feel incredibly uncomfortable, "just be glad it's a drawing and not someone trying to manipulate photographs."

"I doubt a lot of people outside of our line of work have access to manipulation software," Steve said, tearing his eyes away from the bizarre image on the screen.

"All right," Natasha said, maneuvering into Steve's computer chair and manipulating the keyboard and mouse rapidly, "let's see what I can teach you..." Though he followed little of what she was doing on his screen, in a few moments, new software had been installed on his computer, and with a scant fifteen minutes' work, Steve was looking at a brand new image from the Battle of New York: featuring an apparently giant cape-wearing corgi flying alongside Iron Man.

"You know, you could have chosen something besides the battle. It wasn't really a laughing matter," Steve said, suppressing a chuckle as he took control of the mouse, exploring the photo manipulation software Natasha had added to his computer.

"That's what makes the picture even more funny," she replied, a smirk gracing her scarlet painted lips, "are you always so serious?"

"Not according to that drawing of Tony and I. I'm a great cuddler, it would seem," he laughed lightly, though his eyebrows knitted together for a moment, "so I could manipulate any images I have access to?"

"I suppose so. Why, are you going to make an entire puppy Avengers?"

"No... but I did have something in mind..."

* * *

Agent Phil Coulson sat at his desk, two dozen personnel files spread out in front of him, each representing a potential member of the team he was building. His fingers currently ran along lines of text of the file of one Grant Ward - not a man known for his subtlety, but Coulson knew that subtlety wasn't always what a situation called for. A knock on the door interrupted his studying.

"Come in," Coulson called. The imposing form of Director Nick Fury entered, holding a small package in his hand. Noting the item, Coulson smiled slightly, "did I forget my own birthday again? You shouldn't have."

"I try not to get all touchy-feely with my agents, Phil, but something came across my desk that might interest you," the one-eyed director said, shifting the package in his fingers, "sometimes I think it's too bad that the Avengers don't know just what happened to you after the Battle of New York."

"It's something we had to keep from them for the greater good. Besides, if they heard about my recovery time in Tahiti, you might find them going out of their way to be critically injured. It really is-"

"A magical place. Yes, you've told me all about it. Mai tais and pretty girls," Fury laid the package on Coulson's desk and pushed it towards him. It was flat and wrapped in brown paper. Coulson picked up the item and carefully unwrapped it, revealing a glossy trading card featuring Coulson's photo from his personnel file. Phil's name was printed in bold letters along the bottom of the image, and on the back of the card were a few facts that were also from his personnel file. The back of the card finished with "Phil Coulson gave his life in the battle against Loki. He should be counted among the true heroes of that fateful day, and will always be remembered by his friends and colleagues as such." Phil cleared his throat, trying to not get emotional as he glanced back up at Director Fury, "You've really never struck me as the sentimental type... is this to replace the Captain America trading cards I lost?"

"I'm not the sentimental type," Fury began, "and, in a way, that is a Captain America trading card. Rogers sent that to me this morning. Said Romanoff helped him put it together, and he sent one to each Avenger, plus Agent Hill and myself. I thought you should have it. Looks like Steve Rogers admires you. Thinks you're a real American hero" And with that, Fury turned and left the room, grinning as he went.

Coulson picked up the card, turning it gingerly in his fingers, letting a couple of tears roll down his cheeks as he read the last few words again. He then picked up a paperclip from his desk and attached the card to his own copy of his personnel file, returning to his work of saving the world.

~~~Fin~~~


End file.
